Myanmar faces rising chorus of anger over Rakhine crisis

Nearly 90,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh in the past 10 days following an uptick in fighting between militants and Myanmar’s military in strife-torn western Rakhine state.Aung San Suu Kyi has come under increasing fire over her perceived unwillingness to speak out against the treatment of the Rohingya or chastise the military.

5 September 2017

She has made no public comment since the latest fighting broke out. Persecution of the Rohingya has caused much anger across the Muslim world.Pakistan’s foreign ministry released a statement saying it was “deeply concerned over reports of growing number of deaths and forced displacement of Rohingya Muslims” and urged Myanmar to investigate reports of atrocities against the community.

Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi met Myanmar’s army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw on Monday in a bid to pressure the government to do more to alleviate the crisis. Muslim-majority Malaysia has also seen public protests since the latest round of Rakhine violence began.

“We urge for calm and restraint,” Prime Minister Najib Razak tweeted. “The dire situation facing our Rohingya brothers and sisters must be alleviated for good of Myanmar and region.”

Pakistan’s foreign ministry released a statement saying it was “deeply concerned over reports of growing number of deaths and forced displacement of Rohingya Muslims” and urged Myanmar to investigate reports of atrocities against the community.